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Over 160 missing in Texas floods as search for victims continues, survivors say they had no warnings

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www.youtube.com – WPDE ABC15 – 2025-07-09 09:53:50


SUMMARY: Over 170 people are missing after devastating floods hit Texas Hill Country, more than triple initial estimates, fueled by holiday weekend visitors staying off the official radar. Families like Thad Heartfield’s are personally joining search efforts, desperate to find loved ones. The Department of Homeland Security, overseeing FEMA, has granted Texas supplemental funds to support recovery, promising a new FEMA response model. Longtime resident reactions reveal the depth of loss—homes, antiques, and heirlooms destroyed in moments. Despite the shock and destruction, the community unites, with neighbors rallying to support and aid those affected amid this ongoing tragedy.

It has been five days since catastrophic flooding hit Texas on what was supposed to be a joyous Fourth of July, and at least 170 people are still missing in Kerr County as the death toll across the state rises to 111.

Rescue teams in helicopters and on horseback continue to scour through debris as officials warned that unaccounted victims could still be found.

“Know this: We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for. Know this also: There very likely could be more added to that list,” Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Tuesday.

Public officials in charge of locating the victims were grilled during a news conference about their response to the Friday morning flooding, with several reporters appearing to get heated when an answer could not be provided.

Read more: https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/texas-flood-rescue-efforts-intensify-as-number-of-missing-hits-triple-digits-kerrville-kerr-county-fourth-of-july-death-toll-search-and-rescue-gov-greg-abbott-camp-mystic-emergency-response-president-trump-major-disaster#

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

Learning loss after Helene in Western NC school districts

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carolinapublicpress.org – Kate Denning – 2025-07-08 08:14:00


The 2024-2025 school year in Western North Carolina faced major disruptions due to Hurricane Helene, causing significant instructional losses. Ashe County missed 47 days, including 24 from Helene, while Transylvania County lost only 10 days. To aid recovery, the legislature allocated \$9 million for the School Extension Recovery Program, funding summer intensive learning for grades 4–8. Districts are addressing academic gaps and rising behavioral issues linked to trauma, with investments in mental health supports. Experts stress that recovery efforts must continue for years, as the storm’s compounded impact on students’ education and well-being is profound and ongoing.

While Helene’s impact on North Carolina varied across the region, the 2024-2025 school year was anything but ordinary for most Western North Carolina school districts and created significant obstacles to student learning.

Districts like Ashe County, in the state’s northwestern corner, missed upwards of 40 days of in-person instruction, and counties across the region are preparing to make use of the legislature’s $9 million summer learning initiative, the School Extension Recovery Program.

Carolina Public Press talked with school officials in Ashe and Transylvania counties, both among the beneficiaries of a program included in the legislature’s April Helene recovery bill.

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Recipient schools receive a minimum of $20,000 to be used for intensive recovery in math and reading for grades 4 through 8 this summer.

Transylvania, on the South Carolina line, was one of the luckier Western North Carolina districts, missing just 10 days due to Helene and an additional two for teacher workdays, said Carrie Norris, Chief Academic Officer for Transylvania County Schools.

Even though the area faced challenges like loss of communication and student displacement, the district’s ability to get back to in-person learning swiftly made it so the district did not have to make significant changes to the remainder of the school year. 

“We eventually just decided that, since it was 10 days, we did not extend the school year and we just provided support for teachers as to how to make tweaks just in our curriculum pacing guide so we could continue on,” Norris told CPP.

“We did not make any major changes, because it was really kind of like just bad winter weather for us that we are pretty familiar with doing.”

Other districts were not so fortunate. Ashe lost 47 days from its typical instruction time, 24 of which were due to Helene, said Superintendent Eisa Cox.

Of the 47 days missed, 16 days were conducted virtually. While it was important to maximize instructional time, Cox said, virtual learning simply isn’t the same as being in the classroom. 

Ashe County students had just 99 days of school without virtual learning, delayed start times or early release this year.

North Carolina schools always offer summer reading programs for grades 2 and 3 as part of the state’s Read to Achieve program, and Transylvania has offered high school credit recovery opportunities in recent summers. The focus on grades 4 through 8 will be a new addition to the district’s summer learning programs, Norris said.

Cox said Ashe otherwise would not have been able to offer any summer school programs outside of the mandated Read to Achieve program due to a lack of funding prior to the Helene recovery bill.

The $9 million provided for the School Extension Recovery Program are nonrecurring funds beyond 2025. Lance Fusarelli, distinguished professor of educational leadership and policy at North Carolina State University, said summer interventions are going to be critical and the initiative should continue through the summer of 2027 at least.

“You’re looking at up to two months of schooling where they were not in school five days a week, and you can’t just make that up in the course of a year,” Fusarelli said.

“I think the effects will be felt for several years, and it’ll take some serious efforts and some serious interventions to help those kids get caught up.”

It’s too early to know the impact Helene will have on test scores across the state, but Norris said Transylvania is seeing three of its four elementary schools outperform last year’s scores, which she credits to teachers making every minute count once school was back in session.

The biggest change to testing in Ashe was being unable to regularly test students throughout the year, Cox said. End-of-grade testing ultimately took place in both counties as scheduled despite the irregular term. 

“When we normally would have had those checkpoints throughout the year, we didn’t have them necessarily at the same time, so this year was just very different than in the past,” Cox said.

“I think it’s important to realize that no child should be measured by a single test score, and that at the end of the day, we do have some time to catch kids up, and hopefully we have the grace in which to do that.”

Despite missing relatively few days due to Helene, Transylvania also had a challenging year due to a number of tragedies that resulted in the deaths of five students in the district.

Norris said those events coupled with Helene’s impact on older students’ ability to communicate with each other indicated a need for more emphasis on mental health care.

“For this coming school year, we have added a crisis care counselor at the high school level to support students more with small groups,” Norris said. 

“And then we have also purchased two programs for the coming year. One is based on teaching students to identify their own behaviors and how to problem solve, and then another program that we’re implementing is a bullying program.”

Ashe is taking a similar interest in mental health care and its effect on learning in its schools. The loss of instruction time and additional traumas students experienced due to Helene has brought on an increase in behavioral issues, Cox said. The district recently received a grant to hire behavioral specialists to help teachers tackle behavioral issues in the classroom.

“Trauma hits different children differently,” Cox said. 

“So it’s a matter of making sure that we are aware of what’s going on, what that looks like in each child, and ‘How can we put the right supports in place so that all children are successful?’ So we’ve been looking at meeting the immediate needs of families, the needs of the students while they’re in school — not just academic, but for the whole child.”

The storm’s impact on learning didn’t start or end with school closures, after all. Fusarelli pointed out the unique challenges Western North Carolina faced even before Helene, including poverty and housing and food insecurity, that became exacerbated. Many students likely experienced the loss of their homes, their family businesses or their loved ones.

“It’s one thing to have schools close for a period of time, but for most people, when something hits, they might have disruption, but they might not lose their entire livelihood,” Fusarelli said. 

“Well, when these towns were wiped out, you have a lot of family owned businesses that were wiped out. And so what do you do when you don’t know where your next paycheck is gonna come from? All of those stressors — no matter how much parents try to shield their kids from stuff like this, you just can’t.”

But kids are resilient, and school districts and the legislature alike are doing their part to help them recover, he said.

Drawing comparisons between Helene and COVID-19’s impact on learning isn’t difficult. Students in Western North Carolina who were school-aged during the onset of COVID-19 and for Helene experienced a “perfect storm” of significant disruptions, Fusarelli said. 

Helene reignited conversations amongst administrators about how such disruptions to learning impact students and how best to support them through those changes.

“We’ve talked a lot about that here at the end of the year, honestly, since COVID we are still struggling with student stamina and working through the hard things to get to the next part,” Norris said. 

“There’s been a lot of years where we, and rightly so, have focused more on the mental supports. But we also have to give them the tools to persevere past the hard things that come along. So building up that stamina, staying true to what our goal is, pushing them in an appropriate way — those are all things that we’re going to talk about.”

Cox learned from COVID-19 how to deliver meaningful instruction even during situations that are far from ideal.

“When COVID happened and we shut down, we really had to make sure that we had purposeful learning for students, because if not, what’s the point of school?” Cox said. 

“So our kids have a driving purpose, and we want to make sure that education met those needs. So we learned from COVID, which I think helped us to plan better for this time of crisis, even though nobody would have ever imagined we would have a hurricane in the mountains of North Carolina.”

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Learning loss after Helene in Western NC school districts appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The content provides a factual and balanced overview of the impact of Hurricane Helene on Western North Carolina school districts, focusing on educational challenges and recovery efforts. It presents perspectives from various educators and officials without partisan framing or ideological language. The emphasis is on practical responses to natural disaster-related disruptions, funding for recovery programs, and student wellbeing. The article avoids polarizing topics and sticks to community and educational issues, resulting in a neutral, informative tone characteristic of centrist reporting.

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

Chantal causes widespread flooding in Central NC

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carolinapublicpress.org – Staff Reports – 2025-07-07 12:01:00


Tropical Depression Chantal caused record-breaking flooding across central North Carolina, leading to property damage, road closures, and multiple water rescues. At least two deaths were reported, including an 83-year-old woman in Chatham County, while two boaters remain missing. Key affected areas include Alamance, Orange, Chatham, and Moore counties, where flooding damaged homes, businesses, farms, and infrastructure. Over 120 roads were closed with ongoing recovery and power outages affecting 18,000 customers. Emergency shelters were opened, and schools closed or shifted operations. Officials emphasized the need for improved prevention and climate change action amid increasing storm impacts. Search and cleanup efforts continue.

Record-breaking flooding from Tropical Depression Chantal in North Carolina’s central counties led to multiple water rescues, road closures and damage to property Sunday and Monday.

At least two storm-related deaths were reported. One was in the Alamance County town of Mebane. In the Chatham County town of Pittsboro, the State Highway Patrol confirmed that an 83-year-old woman died in floodwaters Sunday night around 11:30 p.m., when her car became submerged on Farrington Point Road near Hinton Road.

“My thoughts are with Sandra’s family after these floods devastated our community yesterday,” State Sen. Robert Reives, D-Chatham, tweeted. “Please be careful on the roads and listen to local authorities who are providing updates on safe travel in Chatham County and the broader region.”

An active search also remained underway for two boaters last seen Sunday afternoon after taking a canoe out on Jordan Lake, according to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.

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Their unoccupied canoe was recovered later in the evening, but the boaters remained missing.

Lee County Emergency Management, the North Chatham Fire Department and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission were assisting in the search efforts.

“We are doing everything we can to bring these individuals home,” said Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson. “Our hearts are with their loved ones during this difficult time, and we are grateful for the assistance from our neighboring agencies.”

While there were no confirmed fatalities in Orange County, Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders said in a call with the press Monday afternoon that the department received more than 60 requests for rescues Sunday evening into the morning.

To the south in Chatham County, the 9-1-1 Center had processed 32 water rescues and 21 traffic collisions related to the storm as of Monday morning.

Even as flash-flooding in many places Sunday subsided, many rivers and creeks were still rising Monday. While rivers crested in some places, those waters will be headed further downstream where they could cause flooding in additional areas.

Among the most severely impacted areas from Chantal portions of Alamance, Orange, Chatham, Moore, Durham, Person, Caswell, Lee and Hoke counties. Significant flooding events occurred on portions of the Haw River, Eno River, Deep River, Little River, Rocky River, Booker Creek and Morgan Creek, among many other bodies of water.

A fallen tree leans against the bridge on Eno Mountain Road as the swollen Eno River flows just below the bridge in Hillsborough on July 7, 2025, after Tropical Depression Chantal. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press

Chantal came ashore from the Atlantic Ocean as a Tropical Storm in South Carolina, before weakening to a tropical depression and moving northward through North Carolina Sunday and early Monday.

The center of Chantal continued into Virginia. Unfortunately, the slower winds of the storm did little to reduce the rainfall from the system and its slower forward speed resulted in lingering rainfall over waterlogged areas.

While rain stopped by midday in most of North Carolina, forecasts called for thunderstorms almost daily this week throughout the region.

Damage and disruption from Chantal

More than 100 roads remained closed across Central North Carolina as of 3 p.m. Monday, down from about 120 at noon. The majority of storm-related closures were in Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Moore, Orange and Person counties, according to the DriveNC road tracker maintained by the state. The site also reported additional closures in Lee and Scotland counties.

Several of those counties have declared states of emergencies, which in most cases authorizes those local governments to seek assistance from the state.

Both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-40/85 in Alamance County closed early Monday morning because of flooding on the Haw River, but both lanes have since reopened, a communications officer with the NC Department of Transportation said. 

Once the water dropped sufficiently, NCDOT bridge maintenance teams inspected the area and confirmed it was safe to reopen the interstate.

State crews are assessing conditions across the region and will continue to reopen roads as soon as safety permits, communications officials said.

Tropical Storm Chantal caused 400 outages impacting 18,000 customers in Central North Carolina as of 10 a.m. Monday, according to Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks.

“It is going to be a busy day,” Brooks told Carolina Public Press.

Flooding will complicate powerline repairs, Brooks said. Crews will have to wait until water levels recede in order to safely access some lines. In many cases, crews will have to move fallen trees off the line before they can begin repairing the infrastructure.

A fallen tree blocks the southern end of Exchange Park Lane in Hillsborough on July 7, 2025. The area had severe flash-flooding on July 6 as Tropical Depression Chantal moved through with heavy and sustained rains. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press

With wind events like Chantal, Duke sees many smaller outages rather than a few large ones, making repairs more time-consuming. Some of the smaller outages are in hard-to-reach neighborhoods, Brooks said.

“Wind does not discriminate between a main road and a small neighborhood road,” Brooks said.

Several communities including Graham and Burlington in Alamance County and Hillsborough in Orange County reported that their water treatment plants weren’t operational and issued boil water warnings for drinking, cooking or handwashing. 

Flash-flooding Sunday devastated several areas of Chapel Hill, leaving residents and businesses owners trying to clean up and salvage what they could on Monday. 

Sen. Graig Meyer, D-Orange, said he is frustrated. Storms keep coming, North Carolina continues to have to do recovery work, but there’s not enough emphasis on prevention, Meyer said. 

Mud and debris cover many buildings and roads at the Camelot Village Apartments in Chapel Hill on Monday, July 7, 2025, after severe flash-flooding Sunday from Tropical Depression Chantal. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press

Camelot Village Apartments were coated in mud and dirty water Monday morning, in addition to limbs and other debris. Some vehicles there sustained serious damage Sunday night when the flooding was at its worst there.

Multiple residents were trapped in Camelot Village, in a known flood-prone part of Chapel Hill, Meyer observed, but opposition from property owners has killed attempted FEMA buyouts of the apartments in recent years. 

Across Estes Road from the apartments, a cinema, shops and restaurants were closed to clean up water and mud at University Place on Monday. 

A short distance away at Eastgate Commons, the scene was similar. At Trader Joe’s there, crews worked to dispose of damaged produce and other food items caught in the flooding. 

State Rep. Allen Buansi, D-Orange, spent the morning assessing damage. Some businesses in Eastgate got four to six inches of flooding, he said. 

Seeing inventory strewn across the ground and cars flooded out was a “pretty devastating sight,” he said. 

“I’m really thankful that here in Chapel Hill, thankfully, we did not have any loss of life,” Buansi said.

“But still, the devastation of losing a home, the devastation of losing a business or losing business inventory, I mean, that can’t be measured.”

Crews work to clean up water and mud at Trader Joe’s in Chapel Hill on Monday, July 7, 2025, following Tropical Depression Chantal. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press

Orange County opened an emergency shelter at Smith Middle School on Seawell School Road. Displaced residents can request transportation to the shelter by calling Orange County Public Transportation at (919) 245-2004.

“It is too early to accurately assess the negative impacts in terms of job loss, property loss and then the ripple effects,” Orange County commissioner Jamezetta Bedford told CPP.

In Alamance County, traffic from I-40 was diverted through downtown Mebane for several hours, causing intense traffic this morning, according to Mebane Mayor James Hooks. The Amtrak line through Mebane is also not running. 

An influx of untreated water flooded into the Mebane water treatment plant. The town is asking its residents not to use water unless absolutely necessary, Hooks said. 

There was a voluntary evacuation for homes near Lake Michael due to concerns that a temporary dam might break. However, it held.

State Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, is still in analysis mode, she said. She’s concerned about damage to some schools, but isn’t sure whether the legislature will be able to help. Getting some of the more isolated public roads back open will be another challenge, she said. 

Galey thinks Alamance County’s investment into emergency services, including a partially publicly funded rescue unit, helped prepare them for a storm like Chantal. Years of experience responding to people getting caught in the Haw River also helped.

“That’s sort of a training ground that bears fruit in situations like this, where you have more motorists getting stranded,” Galey said. 

While some communities saw more damage in commercial areas, others saw more neighborhoods flooded. The worst flooding in the Alamance County town of Elon took place in residential areas rather than downtown areas, according to mayor Emily Sharpe.

Other places saw more widespread damage including to industrial, agricultural and government property.

Some areas were less affected, even as areas around them suffered. 

Damage is limited in Carrboro compared to Chapel Hill, Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee told CPP.  “This is just the power of Mother Nature,” Foushee said. “This wasn’t even a hurricane, and still, our community just can be inundated with flood water in a matter of hours.”

Several towns with parks along their rivers reported closures with time needed to assess the damage and make repairs. 

Rides at the amusement park in Burlington, Burlington City Park, experienced flooding and damage, according to town spokesperson Morgan Lasater. Many rides will require repairs.

In Hillsborough, Gold Park and the Riverwalk were closed due to severe flooding from the Eno River.

Gold Park is closed due to severe flooding from the nearby Eno River in Hillsborough on July 7, 2025, following Tropical Depression Chantal.

In Chatham County, the county seat of Pittsboro didn’t suffer severe damage to public infrastructure, Town Commissioner John Bonitz told CPP, but major roads were inundated with water through Sunday night. 

“This storm is a wake up call for municipalities statewide about the urgency of our changing climate,” Bonitz said.

“It is a wake-up call about the constraints that keep us from protecting the public and the public property with more stringent stormwater protections and better infrastructure.”

On the western side of Chatham County, much of the flooding in Siler City had receded by Monday afternoon, but in several places small road repairs will be required, according to Town Manager Jack Meadows

One of the hardest hit areas was Moore County. While no loss of life has been reported there, it felt the impacts of the storm since early Sunday. Late Sunday night, County Board of Commissioners Chair Kurt Cook issued a state of emergency to extend through Wednesday evening. 

Thousands of Moore County residents lost power temporarily. A pair of highways and many smaller roads closed down due to the flooding, and several people were rescued from trapped vehicles, said State Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore. 

In Southern Pines, Long Leaf Lake Dam failed, forcing some apartment evacuations. Several water mains washed out in Pinehurst, leading to low water pressure and a boil water advisory.  A retaining wall also failed, flooding a shopping center on Brucewood Road.

“It was tough, but we’re just grateful that we are so much better off than Texas,” Jackson said. “All that stuff is stuff we can work through, and the great thing about living in Moore County is neighbors help out neighbors, and neighbors look after neighbors, and so that’s what’s been happening all over the county.” 

Jackson applauded emergency services for going “above and beyond” in clearing roads. He’s not thinking about pursuing any legislative action until getting an initial assessment of the damage and needs across Moore County. 

In recent years, no part of North Carolina has been spared from storms. Jackson said they’ve learned how to handle catastrophe from their neighbors. 

“Tough times make you tough,” he said. “North Carolina has been hit now numerous times, and while they have been difficult, they’ve also made us stronger and more prepared for the next one when it comes.”

State Sen. Sophia Chitlik, D-Durham, was on the phone all Monday morning talking to constituents, she said. They recounted stories of rescuing their elderly neighbors at 3 a.m., and having firefighters knock on their doors to warn them of the incoming weather in the absence of emergency alert texts. 

It’s going to be a long haul for about 100 to 200 families in northern Durham County, which includes several historically Black middle class neighborhoods, Chitlik said. 

One of her first orders of business is finding out why emergency alerts didn’t go out, she said. Chitlik imagines federal cuts to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offices may have contributed on some level to inadequate forecasting. The recently passed national budget reconciliation bill will further cut local resources that could be used to prepare for future situations like this, she added. 

Another priority is reforming the flood insurance system. For people outside federally recognized floodplains, getting flood insurance is often prohibitively expensive. 

“But more and more people need flood insurance, and it’s often hard to predict who those people are,” Chitlik said. “We also need to get really clear that moving forward, we need to be extremely rigorous on a local level, about where it is safe to build, not just now, but in the future.” 

Faribault Road in Hillsborough is underwater near the Eno River on July 7, 2025, following the passage of Tropical Depression Chantal. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press

In Orange County, Meyer expressed concern about state legislation related to climate change. At this point, it’s clear more storms will come, Meyer said. But instead of adopting policies to mitigate climate change, North Carolina Republicans chose to renege on 2030 climate goals this session.

The Power Bill Reduction Act would remove an interim carbon reduction goal on the way to carbon neutrality by 2050. While it was recently vetoed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, Meyer isn’t sure that Democrats will be able to sustain that veto. 

“We don’t have the loss of life that they have in Texas or that Western North Carolina had in Hurricane Helene,” Meyer said. “But this is just the beginning of hurricane season, and we see the impact of climate-related weather disasters again and again and again. I wish we would do more to try and turn the tide.”

US Rep. Valerie Foushee, a Democrat who represents much of the affected area, issued a statement Monday: “My heart is heavy seeing the widespread damage across Chatham, Durham, and Orange Counties caused by the severe flooding from Tropical Depression Chantal.

“I am incredibly thankful for the swift actions of our first responders who have been conducting water rescues and are working tirelessly on recovery efforts. I urge everyone in the impacted areas to prioritize safety by heeding official notices and avoiding travel on flooded and damaged roads. In the coming days and weeks, I will work closely with local officials and emergency management teams to ensure every resident and business affected receives the support they need to recover from this devastating storm.”

Farming impact of Chantal

Wind and water took out fencing on many farms near Saxapahaw in Alamance County. 

So far, it seems nearly all farms in Alamance County were able to move livestock to higher ground before flooding began. 

Farms in Snow Camp received 11 inches of rain and experienced flash flooding, power loss, fallen trees and down fences. Farms are waiting to see how quickly the floodwater will recede. If water remains in the fields, crops will see more severe damage.

So far, damage to farms seems limited, according to Orange County extension agents, though they have seen damage to fencing.

Tobacco fields near Southern Pines have seen some damage, according to Moore County extension agent Deborah McGiffin.

Multiple farmers in Person County have reported that more than 40% of their tobacco, soybean and corn crops are destroyed, according to extension agent Mikayla Berryhill.

A 50-acre soybean field is completely underwater in the area, she said. Acres and acres of corn blew over and are now unable to be harvested. It will take days to determine how much of the tobacco crop drowned.

Any Person County farmer that had not yet harvested their wheat will not be able to salvage what was left in the field, Berryhill told CPP.

Additional damage is expected in other areas that CPP has so far been unable to reach.

“We’re right in the middle of blueberry season, and farms in Central North Carolina are very busy,” regional extension agent Chip Simmons told CPP.

“This storm could not have come at a worse time.”

Health care

Roof leaks sprung at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, according to UNC Health spokesperson Alan Wolf, but patient care was not interrupted.

The UNC Health hospital in Hillsborough is relying on bottled water for drinking, cooking, and handwashing due to the boil water advisory in town.

Some staff members at Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington were not able to reach the hospital due to flooded, impassable roadways, leading to staffing shortages at the facility, according to Cone Health spokesperson Tyler Hickman.

Those staffing issues have now been resolved, he said.

UNC Health Chatham in Siler City was unscathed, according to hospital president Jeffery Strickler. The hospital had no significant emergency department arrivals on account of the storm, despite significant flooding and road closures in Chatham County.

Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst reported minor leaks and flooding, both in the hospital and outpatient clinics and buildings, including the Child Development Center.

Schools and colleges

Orange County Schools were closed to the public Monday and asked only essential staff to report to work in-person. A message on the OCS website said New Hope Elementary, Grady A. Brown Elementary, A.L. Stanback Middle and Cedar Ridge High are without power. 

Chatham County Schools posted an update in advance of the storm canceling summer school programs and normal school operations Monday.

Moore County Schools suspended summer programs including Read to Achieve and sports camps Monday to allow maintenance staff to assess storm damage. MCS Director for Communications Charlie Batchelor told CPP just a few of its campuses are experiencing minor leaks and flooding, and the district will operate as normal Tuesday.

Despite significant flooding at Hyco Lake near Person County, Public Information Officer Tracy Scruggs said the district’s only current summer offering is a daycare program that was not impacted, and the district saw no damage to school buildings.

UNC-Chapel Hill media relations told CPP its campus is operating under normal conditions and experienced only minor damages leading it to temporarily close the Student Recreation Center until July 15.

“There was minor flooding in some campus buildings and residence halls, but this hasn’t impacted academic operations,” a spokeperson said. The Student Recreation Center (SRC) and the Finley Track and Field Complex are currently closed due to flooding and water damage.”

Elon University in Alamance County was able to continue operations Monday morning after addressing minor damages, said Avery Craine Powell from University Communications.

“We quickly addressed about a dozen small building leaks across our main campus,” Powell wrote. “One road that flooded near a construction site didn’t damage nearby buildings because of sandbagging (and the water immediately subsided once the rain stopped). A small tree that fell was able to be moved away from a building egress by one person.”

Classes at Alamance Community College were conducted virtually and employees operated remotely Monday.

Sandhills Community College in Moore County said operations were continuing as normal Monday, but encouraged students to exercise caution when traveling to campus.

A spokesperson said Durham Technical Community College’s Hillsborough campus is also operating as normal.

Central Carolina Community College reported that its Pittsboro campus did not have any damage to facilities or infrastructure related to Chantal and was operating on its normal summer schedule.

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated. Kate Denning, Sarah Michels, Jane Winik Sartwell, Frank Taylor and Lucas Thomae contributed to this report.

Crews work to clean up the Frame and Print Shop at the University Place shopping center in Chapel Hill on July 7, 2025, following Tropical Depression Chantal. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press
The rampaging Eno River in Hillsborough rushes under the Exchange Park Lane bridge in Hillsborough on July 7, 2025, following Tropical Depression Chantal. A footbridge from the Hillsborough Riverwalk is partially submerged in the distance. Frank Taylor / Carolina Public Press

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Chantal causes widespread flooding in Central NC appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The article primarily delivers factual reporting on the impact of Tropical Depression Chantal, including detailed descriptions of flooding, rescue efforts, and local government responses. The inclusion of a Democratic state senator’s critique of Republican legislators’ climate policies introduces a mild policy critique, emphasizing concern over environmental and climate-related issues. This perspective aligns with center-left priorities that favor climate action and government intervention. However, the article maintains a largely neutral tone overall by balancing local official statements from both parties and focusing extensively on disaster reporting without partisan framing, supporting an overall center-left rating.

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News from the South - South Carolina News Feed

Chantal, curfew impact July 4 weekend in Myrtle Beach

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www.youtube.com – WPDE ABC15 – 2025-07-07 05:30:38


SUMMARY: Off-and-on rain and a recent deadly shooting near Peaches Corner affected the July 4 holiday weekend in Myrtle Beach, leading to lower visitor turnout than expected. Local businesses overstocked inventory but saw fewer customers, partly due to safety concerns after the shooting. Police arrested the suspect and imposed a temporary 10 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors, with violators facing jail or fines. Many residents supported the curfew for safety reasons. As crowds thinned, locals hope for better weather and a more peaceful holiday next year. The curfew is set to end the morning after the weekend.

Scattered rain didn’t stop visitors from enjoying their last day of fourth of July weekend, but residents said the holiday weekend didn’t meet expectations.

Just last Friday, a deadly shooting happened at Peaches Corner, steps away from where Delaney Hicks, a local bartender, works.

“We definitely stocked up on inventory, expecting a very large crowd that we didn’t really get with the weather and everything on top of fourth of July weekend,” Hicks said. “I think people just didn’t come out.”

The city also implemented an earlier 10 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors over the weekend. Mayor Brenda Bethune tells us the city council will consider putting a permanent, stricter juvenile curfew in place on Tuesday.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3TVnl7o
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